Sign



Sept. 21, 1937. w. T. BRADSHAW 'ET AL 2,093,412

SIGN

Filed June L193"! ii'llilllm H Jove/7722b? Patented Sept. 21, 1937 UNITED STATES SIGN William T. Bradshaw and Emmett J. Raehn, Oakland, Calif.

Application June 1, 1937, Serial No. 145,670

7 Claims.

This invention is a shadowless day and night sign which may be used for either outdoor or indoor advertising display, and the display or characters are interchangeable at will.

This sign, due to its specific combination of elements and the arrangement and specific method of operation, provides a sign of unusual brilliancy which is entirely devoid of glare and therefore sharply outlines the characters of the display with unusual fidelity and elearness. It provides the illusory effect of a ground glass or opalescent screen without the light damping effect produced by such devices, and due to the glareless brilliant field, letters, figures and insignia appear of a magnified size, and a sign made up according to this invention can be seen at a greater distance with absolute clarity than most of the signs now in use, considering the same size of letters or characters. It also has the advantage, of being unbreakable except as to the lamps used for illumination.

This sign uses gas tubes as the source of illumination, and by the use of tubes of different colors, oppositely located, a beautiful, brilliant, colorful illumination is produced, providing a background or field in which one pure color gradually blends into the other color with the tints continually varying throughout the width or height of the sign.

The objects and advantages of the invention are as follows:

First; to provide a display sign which is suitable for either night or day display, and which is thoroughly effective for either type of display.

Second; to provide a sign of the type outlined in which two spaced apart, concealed neon tubes are used as the source of illumination, and in which none of the direct rays of the lamps can pass to the outside of the sign.

Third; to provide a sign as outlined in which woven screen is used as a light ray check and diifuser and as a support for letters, figures and insignia.

Fourth; to provide a sign as outlined in which the display characters may be interchanged at will for changing the character of the sign or display.

Fifth; to provide a sign as outlined in which reflection shadows are completely neutralized to form a shadowless sign.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the following description is read on the drawing forming a part of this specification, and in which similar reference characters are used to designate similar parts throughout the several views, of which;

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a typical opaque letter as used with this sign.

Fig. 4 is a rear or back view of Fig. 3, showing the opaque letter finished on the back in satin finish aluminum or aluminum paint and indicated by the plain white surface.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the screen and a character showing one method of attaching the interchangeable characters.

' Fig. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view shown in section indicating the relative position of edge or end of screen and the neon lamp.

The invention consists of a housing comprising a top Wall I0, bottom wall ll, end walls l2, back wall and reflecting panel I3, front framing M of any desired shape, and a screen front I5 on which the characters l6 are mounted, and two neon tubes or lamps l1 and I8, which are respectively mounted in the lower and upper ends of the housing, adjacent to the walls II and If! and to the framing [4, so as to be completely concealed from frontal view. The lamps H and i8 extend throughout the entire length of the housing so as to illuminate the full length of the screen.

The characters I6, Figs. 1, 3 and 4, are formed of bakelite, fibre board, or metal, or other opaque material, and may be of any desired color on their front face, but for the purpose of neutralizing reflection shadows, must be the same color and shade on the back, (Fig. 4) as the inside surface 29 of the reflecting panel 13, under which conditions reflection shadows are entirely absent, and a shadowless neon illuminated sign is produced. Unusually fine effects are produced,

of exceptionally soft brilliancy and uniform blending of color by the use of satin finish aluminum or aluminum paint for the backs of the characters and for the reflecting panel.

The screen i5 is preferably a comparatively fine mesh screen, such as ordinary fly screen, preferably finished in the same color on its inside surface as the reflecting panel, although different effects are produced by finishing the screen in a different color, which increases the opalescent eifect but somewhat tones down the illumination.

This screen also acts as a support for the characters which obviously forms a universal support, since the characters may be attached in any desired position, sequence, or spacing.

These characters may be provided with tongues 2! as shown in Fig. 4, which can be hooked through the meshes of the screen, or the characters may be attached by means of small bolts or other suitable devices, such as tying, the tongues through carmine, red, purple, violet to blue, and of substantially even illumination and brilliancy throughout the entire face of the sign. If desired, side lamps I5, may also be used, and these may bejof different colors thanthe lamps l I and I8. They would increase the coloring and brilliancy,

The light from the neon lamps is reflected from the reflecting panel, and no light rays from 1:

the lamps are permitted to pass directly from the lamps l1 and I8 throughthe screen, since the lamps are located in such relation to the screen that all rays are blocked by the wires of the screen, as shown in Fig. 6, in which the top and bottom surfaces 22 and 23 of the Wires 24 block the rays 25, and reflect them back into the housing, the surfaces.22,,and 23 being brilliantly illuminated, and some: of the raysv being reflected from one surface 22 'to the next adjacent surface 23 ofthe next wire. Thus a new and unusual effect is obtained, causing the screen to appear as a ground glass or opalescent screen without the dampening'effect on the light rays created by such glass screens, and a solid field or background of variegated,.brilliant, glareless, illumination is produced,.which is not possible of attainment by means of glass or any glass substitute, due to the reflecting surfaces of such means and refraction.

The characters. 16 are therefore sharply outlined against a glareless and shadowless field. If the color and shade of the back of the characters It, (Fig.4) is not identical to the color and shade of the reflecting paneLthe backs of the characters will be reflected onto the reflecting panel and create reflection shadows.

Therefore, the specific results sought are obtained by identity of color and shade, as well as brilliance of surface, on the characters and reflecting panel, opaque. characters, comparatively fine'screen front panel and specific location of lamps preventing direct passage of light from the lamps to the exterior of the housing, the illumination of tops, bottoms and sides of wires of the screen producing an, iridescent or opalescent effect, and the interchangeability feature of the characters on the screen, permitting universal arrangement to meet any desired layout or display. Mercury, neon, argon, or any other type of tubular source of illumination may be employed.

Thus a particularly colorful, clear and high visibility sign is produced having the illusory effect of opalescence, non-glaring, shadowless, nonbreakable except as to the lamps used for illumination, and at a very low cost for both construction and operation, and one which is interchangeable at willv as to the display used.

It will be understood that variations in construction and arrangement of parts, which variations are consistent with the appended claims, may be resorted to, withoutv detracting from the spirit or scope of the invention, or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

We claim:

1. A sign comprising a housing having a screen front and a plane back reflecting panel, and. top, bottom and end Walls, a neon tube mounted adjacent each said bottom wall and said top wall, and framingconcealing said tubes against frontal view, and opaque characters mounted on said screen, said tubes being mounted in a plane close to the plane of the screen, whereby all direct rays said reflecting panel and the back surface of said characters are identical in color and shade to provide a shadowless sign.

3. A sign comprising a housing having a top wall, a bottom wall and end Walls, a back having form-ed on its inner surface a reflecting surface, and a. front wall comprising an encompassing frame forming a sign opening, and a wire mesh screen covering said opening, a neon lamp of one color mounted adjacent said frame and said bottom wall, a second neon lamp of another color mounted adjacent said frame and said top wall, said lamps being concealed from frontal view by said frame, the wires of said screen forming blockingmeans against direct passage of light rays from said lamps to the exterior of the housing through the screen and having their top, bottom and side surfaces at least partially illuminated by said lamps directly and producing thereby the effect of opalescence of the screen and a brilliantly illuminated field of a non-glare nature as also nondispersing, and blending in color from the color of one lamp to the color of the other lamp throughout the height of the sign.

4. A structure as claimed in claim 3, said reflecting surface being formed of satin-finished aluminum or aluminum paint, which in combination with the specific method of illumination of said screen provides the illusory effect of a ground glass screen, while being non-breakable.

5. A structure as claimed in claim 3, and opaque characters mounted on the outer surface of said screen and having their inner surface finished in the same identical color, shade and character of surface as the reflecting surface to provide a shadowless sign through neutralization, of reflections from the characters.

6. A structure as claimed in claim 3, said refleeting surface being formed of satin finish aluminum or aluminum paint, which in combina tion with the specific method of illumination of said screen provides the illusory effect of a ground glass screen, and opaque characters mounted on the outer surface of said screen and having their inner surface finished in the same identical color shade and surface character as the reflecting surface to provide a shadowless sign through neutralization of reflections from the characters.

7. An illuminated background or field for a sign comprising a close mesh wire screen and a reflecting surface in parallel relation, neon lamps mounted in interposed parallel relation to said screen and said surface and outside the peripheral limits thereof and means concealing said lamps from frontal view, said lamps being located in a plane close to the plane of the screen whereby the wires of the screen will block direct passage of light from the lamps through the screen, and the sides, tops and bottoms of the wires will be partially directly illuminated, said screen, through the specificmethod of illumination on allperipheral sides of the meshes of the screen providing opalescence and freedom from glare, and a brilliant, harmoniously colored field.

WILLIAM T. BRADSHAW.

EMMETT J,- RAEHN. 

